Editor’s Note: This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out we updated this article for 2019. This is our fourth time ranking the worst suburbs around Charlotte.

So the question arises, do the suburbs maintain a semblance of the larger-than-life appeal of their more famous neighbor?

Today, we’ll use science and data to determine which Charlotte ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Charlotte area if you will. Realistically, you can’t expect all the suburbs to live up to Charlotte proper, although Davidson certainly tries.

Of course, not all suburbs of Charlotte are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado…

We examined the 41 biggest suburbs of Charlotte to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in North Carolina lists, these ten places are a little too far downwind of Charlotte in terms of quality of life.

Editor’s Note: If you see a slight difference between the worst in state rankings and this suburb ranking, it’s because of the methodology. We needed a way to include more places, so we eliminated crime and commute times as criteria for this analysis.

We’ll get the ball rolling with Lincolnton, the absolute worst place to live around Charlotte according to the data.

And in the world of worst rankings, Lincolnton beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 1st worst in the Charlotte area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 9th worst when it comes to home values.

But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Lincolnton.

You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area, there aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.

Back up the highway we go for the third worst Charlotte suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Monroe on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.

In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school drop out rate is poor compared to other Charlotte suburbs.

China Grove has the distinction of being a Charlotte suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.

All snarkiness aside, China Grove has the 1st lowest home values in the metro Charlotte area, where the median price is $102,400. To put that into perspective, in Davidson, the median income is $170,500, which is the best in the area.